​Toyota is on a dominant run in the NASCAR Cup Series this season, sitting at the top of the manufacturer standings, well ahead of Ford by more than 100 points as this weekend’s race in Atlanta approaches. With Ford lagging in third place, Kevin Harvick is drawing attention to a potential reason for the gap between the two manufacturers.
During this week’s episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, the 2027 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee shared his experiences racing for Ford and his observation that the manufacturer’s teams rarely work together. “When you look at Ford, it’s a little bit dysfunctional based on my experience at Stewart-Haas Racing. Nobody ever worked together, and they’re still at that point of nobody really works together,” Harvick said when discussing Ford’s internal collaboration.
Harvick’s remarks came shortly after RFK Racing driver and co-owner Brad Keselowski urged Ford to pursue more of the “elite collaboration” that Toyota has demonstrated among its teams. Keselowski highlighted Toyota’s approach as a model for success in the sport.
Toyota’s emphasis on collaboration across its three teams has yielded dividends in 2026. Traditionally, Joe Gibbs Racing dominated the OEM’s success, but 23XI Racing has risen to deliver a comparable number of victories and high finishes. More recently, Legacy Motor Club has shown meaningful improvement in on-track performance.
“What’s become unique, I think, over the last two or three years specifically is—and I’ll give a lot of credit to Toyota for this—they’ve recognized that the stalemate isn’t necessarily good for the sport or for them as an OEM, and they’ve taken steps to push elite collaboration among their top organizations. They’ve established two ‘A’ teams rather than an ‘A,’ ‘B,’ and ‘C’ setup. From what I’ve seen so far, the other OEMs have not matched that approach, and Toyota is making them pay for it with results on the track. They deserve credit for that,” Keselowski said when comparing Toyota’s teamwork to Ford and Chevrolet.
Harvick agreed with Keselowski on Toyota’s stronger collaborative model and, based on his SHR experience, suggested little would change for Ford in the near term. He also emphasized that 23XI Racing pays a significant portion of its information gains to JGR, a factor in collaboration. Toyota’s broader involvement with its teams appears to be a factor in overall success, but such collaboration is not inexpensive.
Ford, by contrast, has faced tougher scrutiny. Harvick argued that Ford’s development program has been lacking and that the brand no longer has a prominent presence in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. The perception of dysfunction has long followed Ford, and until meaningful changes are made, consistently competing with Toyota remains challenging.
In effect, the gap between Toyota and Ford is attributed to structural differences in how the OEM organizes and leverages collaboration across its racing teams, combined with the relative strength of Toyota’s integrated approach. The ongoing conversation among top drivers and team owners underscores a broader debate over whether Ford can implement a more cohesive, collaborative framework to close the distance to Toyota in the current season.